MERCHANT NAVY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 153, 30 June 1944, Page 4

MERCHANT NAVY

HEROISM REMEMBERED NEW ZEALAND'S DEPENDENCE Acknowledging the debt of gratitude owed to the Merchant Navy, Sir Ernest Davis, chairman of directors, at the annual meeting of the Northern Steamship Company to-day, pointed out that 23,600 non-combat-ants of that service had sacrificed their lives in the war. "As, little by little, the great navies of Britain and the United States won and held the mastery of the seas, despite the once grave menace of the submarine packs which harried Allied shipping, we have heard progressively less of the heroism of the men who sail under the Red Ensign," said Sir Ernest. "But their's is an imperishable story. Let us not forget that their brave work must go on by day and by night, until the war is won. Where would New Zealand be to-day had the sea lanes not been kept open, our produce not shipped regularly, our supplies and equipment not transported? Gratefully then we acknowledge our debt of gratitude. I should say that the greatest memorial we could create is to ensure that the very service for which they died is promoted and developed to the end that the surviving generation may find in it opportunities for a useful and happy life, to the benefit of themselves and their families."